In which I make some clothes, expound on the virtues of the flat fell seam finish, and proclaim "you CAN sew your own clothes, and even wear them in public".

Wednesday, July 30, 2008

White denim jacket and skirt

I decided to use the 3 or more yards of white "ten ounce" denim I have and make it into a jacket and skirt. Not to wear all together of course, lest I look like the Man from Glad. I am calling it "ten ounce" because it is very substantial, like the denim you get in traditional jeans.I am using Butterick 4741, view D (the red one), the same pattern I used for the yellow cotton jacket I wore to death in France. This time, I am taking up the sleeves by 1/2 inch and the body by a whole inch. The sleeves were really long on the yellow jacket and I ended up rolling the cuffs up almost the whole time I wore the jacket. I didn't notice that the body itself was really long but looking at it in the mirror, I realize it could come up a bit too.I am using McCall's 3656 in a modified version of the fly-front with pockets skirt. It is way too short for 50 year old knees so I have lengthened it over the years.That looks lame but it is still just above the knee, even with the extension. When you are 6 feet tall, you can wear a skirt that goes half way down the thigh and it is wearable. But when you are 5'2", the femur just isn't that long and halfway down it can mean disaster for sitting in a short skirt. So I go just above the knee for a casual, cotton skirt.I've been thinking about what buttons to use. As is my wont, when I can't sleep, I go through my fabric boxes in my head and sometimes, I think about the next project. I have a white corduroy jacket in the "classic" jean jacket pattern and I used silver snaps for that. I didn't want to go with plain white boring buttons on this jacket but couldn't decide until I thought about wooden buttons!Of course, I shall have to go get some new ones and they won't be very dark wood but what do you think of the concept?

Charlene, I am not sure how old some of my patterns are. They aren't THAT old - I threw out the ones that don't fit any more from, like, the 70s. But it wouldn't surprise me if you can't find them anywhere. I am sure you can get similar-looking patterns, even in different brands. However! I just bought that Butterick pattern 4741 this year so it can't be that out-of-date. I Googled "Butterick pattern 4741" and the first hit was the jacket at sewing.patternreview.com. Another hit was a vintage pattern, not the jacket. Maybe it is just in Canada? Maybe you have to put the B in front of the number? Anyway, I would ask at the store where you buy your patterns and see what they know.

Hey Anon, I wonder if you mean "wadding"? I tried looking up "waddle" but only got duck references. Wadding however, can be anything you need it to be, from cotton to quilt batting and all sorts of stuff. It depends on the finished project, what you may want to use. I suggest you go to your local fabric store and see if they can help you. Tell them what you want to accomplish and maybe they can come up with some suggestions.